Aren’t Frogs Supposed to Hop?

March 5, 2013

Growing up, one of the defining characteristics I’ve associated with a frog is that it hops to get around. How could I have been so wrong all of these years? It turns out that the rubber frog (Phrynomantis bifasciatus), like this one recorded in Gorongosa, prefers to walk or run to get from place to place.

This type of locomotion may be slower than hopping, but it doesn’t matter much to this little rubber frog. Its skin is highly toxic and the bright orange and black coloration on its skin ensure that predators know not to mess with him.

I did a bit of digging on the topic and found out that walking or running is actually more efficient than hopping for long periods of time. Frogs that have to escape from predators are well adapted to hopping (with longer and stronger back legs), which gives them the short, fast bursts of speed they need to escape.

If this little walking frog changed the way you think about frogs, like it did for me, please SHARE this post with your friends!